1. Field of the invention
The present invention relates to an optical connector to optically connect an optical receiving module and an optical transmitting module to respective optical fibers.
2. Description of the Related Art
A wiring harness has been used for connecting equipment or accessories of an automobile. However, the wiring harness has been enlarged and has increased its weight according to the increase of equipment or accessories and their circuits. A fiber optic communications system which sends signals to the accessories by using the optical fiber cable used as a part of the wiring harness has been proposed in order to solve the above problem.
In the above fiber optic communications system, the signal light transmitted from the optical fiber cable is converted into electrical signal, and the electrical signal is converted into the signal light outputted to the optical fiber cable. For this purpose a receptacle 103 shown in FIG. 16 (an equipment side connector) has been proposed.
The receptacle 103 in FIG. 16 couples with a mating optical connector, i.e. a non-shown optical plug (an optical fiber side connector). And, the receptacle 103 is attached to a printed circuit board 120 or the like of an accessory. On the printed circuit board 120, a hole 122 for a bolt 121 is formed.
The receptacle 103 has a housing 107, an optical receiving module and an optical transmitting module 104, and a pair of sleeves 101. The housing 107 is formed in a box-shape. The housing 107 is made of a base material of insulative synthetic resin and a thin insulation film formed on the surface of the base material. The housing 107 has a pair of accommodating chambers 108 opening on an external wall and a flange portion 123 projecting outwardly.
The flange portion 123 is formed flatly along the printed circuit board 120. A screw hole 124 for a bolt 121 is formed in the flange portion 123. The screw hole 124 is bored through the flange portion 123. And, in the housing 107 the optical plug fits.
The optical receiving module and the optical transmitting module 104 are accommodated in the respective accommodating chamber 108. The pair of sleeves 101 are made of light-readable material in a cylindrical shape and are inserted into respective non-shown transferring tubes of the housing 107. The sleeve 101 consists of a core and a clad having different indexes of refraction and arranged coaxially.
The sleeve 101 is arranged between the optical fiber and a light-receiving surface of the optical receiving module 104 and also between another optical fiber and a light-emitting surface of the optical transmitting module 104 and connects them optically.
And, a cap 110 is installed after accommodating the optical receiving module and the optical transmitting module in the accommodating chambers 108. The cap 110 is formed of elastic synthetic resin in a rectangular tabular shape.
The cap 110 is attached to the housing 107 by means of engaging projections 110a and engaging recesses 110b engagable each other. The engaging projection 110a projects outwardly from the periphery of the cap 110. The engaging recess 110b is formed on the internal surface of the housing 107.
The optical plug has a pair of optical fibers, a pair of ferrules, and a plug housing of synthetic resin. The pair of optical fibers are arranged in parallel. The ferrule covers the optical fiber with its end being exposed. The plug housing accommodates the ferrules and couples with the housing.
The receptacle 103 coupled with the optical plug receives the signal light transmitted from one of the optical fibers on the light-receiving surface of the optical receiving module 104 through one of the sleeves 101. And, the optical receiving module converts the signal light into the electrical signal. And, the optical transmitting module 104 converts the electrical signal into the signal light and transmits it toward the other optical fiber through the other sleeve 101.
And, the above receptacle 103 is fixed to the printed circuit board 120 by means of the bolt 121 and the screw hole 124 through the above hole 122. When the bolt 121 is screwed to the screw hole 124, an insulation film formed over the screw hole 124 is removed. And, through the bolt 121 the base material of the housing 107 is electrically connected to the conductive pattern of the printed circuit board 120, whereby an earth circuit reaching the printed circuit board 120 from the base material of the above housing 107 is formed.
With respect to the above prior art receptacle 103, however, when the receptacle 103 is mounted on the printed circuit board 120, i.e. a substrate member, the bolt 121 has to be screwed in the screw hole 124 from the back side of the printed circuit board 120, thereby increasing the assembling cost.
In view of the foregoing, an object of the present invention is to provide an optical connector capable of reducing its mounting cost on the substrate member.
In order to achieve the above object, an optical connector comprises: a housing, having a base material of conductive resin and an insulation film covering a surface of the base material, to accommodate an optical receiving module and an optical transmitting module; and a fixing member, attached to the housing, to fix the housing to a substrate member by engaging with an engagement receiving portion of the substrate member, wherein the housing has a press-fit receiving portion to which the fixing member is pressedly inserted, and upon inserting the fixing member in the press-fit receiving portion the insulation film over the press-fit receiving portion is removed thereby to put the fixing member into contact with the base material.
In the above optical connector, when the fixing member to engage the engagement receiving portion of the substrate member is pressed in a press-fit receiving portion of the housing, the fixing member is put into contact with in the base material, of the housing, of conductive resin. Therefore, the housing can be fixed to the substrate member by pressing the fixing member in the press-fit receiving portion and engaging the fixing member with the engagement receiving portion.
According to the above-described structure of the present invention, since the housing can be fixed to the substrate member by inserting the fixing member in the press-fit receiving portion of the housing and by engaging the fixing member with the engagement receiving portion, labor required for mounting the receptacle onto the substrate member can be reduced.
The above and other objects and features of the present invention will become more apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.